Muslims rally against France's ban on public prayer in front of French Embassy, London. 23 September, 2011. Demotix/Reporter #20299. All rights reserved.Around six weeks after the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November, France seems more confused than ever on how to contain the fascination that some of its young Muslims have for groups such as ISIS. An indication is the socialist government's promise, as part of its attempt to compete for votes with the National Front (the far-right party that come close to winning the recent regional elections), to “eradicate radical Islam”. Such declared ambitions miss the fact that such radicalisation is also partly linked to the governing elites' failure to gain the identification of young Muslims. The failure is now being compounded, as both ISIS (or Daesh) and a growing number of French political and media representatives now share the belief that French Muslims cannot, on the basis of their Islamic values, contribute to the political configuration of a secular nation.
The constant repetition, over the past fifteen years, of the idea that Islam is the main destabilising factor of France’s republic has encouraged the rise of a new kind of political radicalism. Yet those who make this claim are reluctant to treat such radicalism as a serious political phenomenon - whereas groups like ISIS put this radicalism at the centre of their propaganda, promising to new adherents a transformed status. No longer will the young Muslims attracted to their banner be "western imperialism’s slaves", but rather bold political adversaries who gain value through the fear they inspire.
For those who have reached the point of choosing terrorism, it is often too late to offer any alternative narrative. For the rest, however - those at some stage of the possible journey - it is crucial to understand what encourages them to disaffiliate from the national community they belong to. It will only be possible to contain their political radicalism if ways are found to renew the channels of political participation they have access to through the promotion of a culture of democratic criticism.
